Singtel Vs Starhub (TV & Internet)

[Gokap]

Hi,

Moving to Singapore permanently this weekend, have the apartment sorted so now thinking about the rest of the to do list. At the top is now where to go for Internet and TV? Mobile provided by work.

Internet would be used for Skype, FaceTime, downloading and streaming films & TV shows.

TV would be in HD, important for sports (golf, rugby and of course football; Villa for my sins), movies, US TV shows and general channel hopping in times of boredom.

Also, from what I read none of the providers have 3d channels, is this likely to change? Not a major consideration but most new TV's have it as standard so the option to watch in 3d would be good.

Thanks in advance for any advice, suggestions etc particularly in relation to my chosen team the Mighty Aston Villa.

[zzm9980]

Starhub has EPL now, and the better choice for "entertainment". From what I understand the rest of their sports package sucks.

If your new place has fiber, the Internet will be roughly the same between the two. If not, the consensus seems to be Singtel > Starhub, but it's not that great.

If you have fiber, I would personally get MyRepublic or Viewquest for the Internet, and then watch my TV online since both services have VPN-free streaming options. NetFlix, Hulu, and a football streaming package will be superior in quality and quantity of the programming you'd get from either of the two local tv providers. Cheaper too I'm guessing. Just Singtels sports package is 35/month, min 12 months. No canceling for 3 months in the summer.

Wasn't AV relegated? :p j/k

[Gokap]

Thanks for the reply.

Excuse my ignorance but what is "VPN-free streaming"?

Nearly relegated but Wigan kindly agreed to take our lace though Villa's form at Xmas certainly warranted championship football!

[zzm9980]

So normally you can't use services like Hulu or Netflix outside the US, or BBC I player outside of the UK. VPNs let you bypass those restrictions and view anywhere, but generally only work on a computer. The VPN free options of those two ISPs mean you would be able to get an AppleTV or Xbox attached to a tv and use those services for cheap or free.

If all of that sounds amazingly complicated, just compare the tv offerings of the two providers and chose appropriately. Everything else is negligable.

[Steve1960]

Starhub has EPL now, and the better choice for "entertainment". From what I understand the rest of their sports package sucks.

Yes, I recently received a nice letter from Singtel advising they would have to increase the cost of providing EPL football due to the court ruling grrrrrrr

[zzm9980]

Starhub has EPL now, and the better choice for "entertainment". From what I understand the rest of their sports package sucks.

Yes, I recently received a nice letter from Singtel advising they would have to increase the cost of providing EPL football due to the court ruling grrrrrrr

That's pretty ridiculous considering how much they already charge.

[Gokap]

Thanks for the advice on this.

I like very much the idea of having access to services not usually available in certain countries and had considered something similar to get football whilst living in Switzerland but i always wondered if it was legal. I have apple TV already but as you say it might get complicated so I will probably go safe with of the two main providers... The problem is which.

Cheers

[zzm9980]

Thanks for the advice on this.

I like very much the idea of having access to services not usually available in certain countries and had considered something similar to get football whilst living in Switzerland but i always wondered if it was legal. I have apple TV already but as you say it might get complicated so I will probably go safe with of the two main providers... The problem is which.

Cheers

Apple TV works flawlessly with My Republic (and I assume ViewQuest, as they advertise the same feature). I watch Hulu and NetFlix on it all of the time. Nothing special is required.

Apple TV has nothing for sports though. You could get a subscription to FoxSports if you're OK watching on an iDevice, or using the iDevice to relay it via AirPlay to your Apple TV. Sky Sports would be better than FoxSports (Fox only has EPL and SPL pretty much), but I think you need a Sky subscription in the UK to add on the online access.

[Gokap]

Ok so having just been to both Singtel and Starhub in Vivo i am not very impressed. Singtel is not an option the guy behind the counter was useless and they have suspended there sports package including premier league until the court case is finished. Starhub were better but it feels like so much of what is paid for wont be used.

This promotes the VPN free option to top of the list. As it happens I already have a UK Sky subscription and the app which allows for streaming via iPad but only in the UK, this option would mean being able to use the app in Spore I assume?

Will the Internet provider eg My Republic give a new IP address each time a new country is logged into eg Vudu in US or Sky in UK? Or is it one "generic" address which essentially hides the country it is coming from?

Do you know if it possible to record what is streamed via Apple TV or wifi enabled blu ray player using a stand alone digital recorder set top box or any other device? Eg the mighty AV are going to crush Man U which can be watched via UK sky app, can this be recorded and watched later as it will be on in the middle of the night here?

One final question for now at least; to use a US service would this need a US bank account?

Thanks again ZZM980, you probably didn't expect or want so many questions

[zzm9980]

Hi,

MyRepublic's info is here on the service:
https://secure.myrepublic.com.sg/add-ons/teleport.php

I don't see Sky listed actually, so I'd email them and ask. They will probably be open to adding it.

Your IP never changes. They perform some non-standard routing on their backend for your traffic only destined to those sites so it comes out of a location in the appropriate country.

Not sure on the US Bank account, that will likely vary per service provider. You can purchase content from Apple that is "US Only" simply by picking a US address. Any US address. Pretty easy. You also need a US credit card, or you can purchase an Apple gift card to just add credit to your account.

NetFlix, I'm not sure. I share someone's login.

Recording off of the Apple TV is not an option from the Apple TV itself. You'd need to do something to intercept the output from the Apple TV and record that way. That is however what something called 'HDCP', built into most HDMI devices, is designed to prevent. I know there is equipment sold that will you work around it though.

If you're only looking to record sporting events, send me a PM if you want the URL to forum where you can download most anything hours after its aired.